Confiscated spider feeds on cockroaches in Institute of Forest

06/03/2012 - 14:35

120306 Martin Mytnia.mp3

“We had moths and fish. There was a hairy spider too. They were transporting it in a sieve”, - said Homel customs officials to Euroradio. 106 chrysalises of exotic moths were confiscated at the beginning o March.

40 chrysalises and a bird spider were confiscated last year. The spider still lives in the Institute of Forest of the National Academy of Sciences. He feeds on cockroaches.

Spider Barys confiscated by customs officers lives in the Institute of Forest

“We have a room where we preserve the temperature and humidity moths need. They will not be able to hatch if it is too dry. We also have a bird spider. He eats Nauphoeta cinerea - these cockroaches are hard to get”, - says junior research assistant Halina Pomaz.

Moths from Institute of Forest

“We preserve confiscated goods until the trial. If it is impossible to sell the goods, they will be utilized”, - explain Homel customs officials.

However, customs offices are allowed to sell confiscated flowers before the trial.

“They are perishables. Such goods cannot be stored for long. They should be sold before the trial. Everything is done quickly and flowers are sent to shops within a day”, - say Brest customs officials.

If the court decided to return flowers to their owners, they would get money. However, it has never happened at Brest Customs Office before.

Moths are usually imported in spring – an exotic March 8 present.

“It can be a dead moth – a souvenir. You can buy live butterflies to create a kind of fireworks. You can hide them in an envelope. Girls will be pleased to see a live flower fly out of an envelope”, - says Halina Pomaz.

Moth collage in Institute of Forest

One chrysalis costs from 3 to 10 dollars. The Institute of Forest is going to make a collage to make a report about the moths that die.

You can buy tropical moths in Minsk. They cost 35 dollars each.

“The most expensive one costs 35 dollars – it is 12 or 16 cm long. The price is high and it can stop you. A flower costs 10 thousands and a moth – 300. And they have the same life span”, - explains the company that is said to breed and sell such moths. Butterfly fireworks cost 700 dollars.

However, they put the phone down when I asked for a certificate to make sure that the moths were healthy. They seem to work illegally.

By the way, the republican budget received 27 trillion roubles not counting moths from customs offices last year. Minsk budget 2012 is 10 trillion roubles smaller.